Time Stands Backwards
by lostiesgirl
Summary: Rita Maribona is a big fan of Degrassi: The Next Generation. Somehow, she finds herself in season 4 of Degrassi: The Next Generation, redoing her sophomore year, right near the return of Rick Murray. Just how much will change by her being there? How much will it change her, having to actually see her show play out in real life?
1. A detour into Degrassi

Greeting, guys, gals, and Non-binary pals!

I know what you're thinking!

For so Degrassi fans, this is odd.

For my fans, this is odder.

But, I actually wrote a version of what I'm posting today, without some main element. In any case, I wanted to do this for a long while, maybe ever since I started watching Degrassi when I was a kid in school. And I like to do a mulit-chapter story where it doesn't consume years and years of my life.

I wanted to write this for a Valentine's day thing I was doing, but the romantic element won't come in until a few chapters in.

* * *

This was officially the weirdest day of Margarita Maribona's life.

Even if's was technically night, when it turned instantly into day. God, she was going to drop dead by the end of this 'day'.

One minute, she was complaining to her sister Maribel about trying to back out of watching Degrassi: New Class, her sister's latest new favorite Netflix show. She didn't really wanted to waste time using Skype to watch a show Rita had given up on sometime when Clare graduated from Degrassi.

In literally the next minute, she was sitting on a bulky as hell computer, with the screen turned off, with a huge headache.

Frowning, she moved around, her eyes widening at the unfamiliar room, yet so similar to her own. For one thing, the lack of wood walls threw her off. Along with an actual bed. She lightly touched the mattress, not even nearing her laid out clothes (which would be something she would have worn, if she was a middle class girl in second grade).

 _Soft to the touch._

" _No manches_!" She moved away from the bed to the dresser, to a picture of her, her sister, and her mother, smiling, next to their mixed dog, all dressed up! She pressed a hand to her mouth. She set that one down, and looked at the other one that was on the dresser. She wanted to cry right then and there.

"Rita!" She heard her sister shouting, bolting to the door towards Maribel's voice. Her mom and most of her family uses Margarita, and occasionally, Maggie, but she preferred Rita, for now.

"Maribel, please tell me you know what's going on!" Rita stopped in her tracks and smelt before she saw breakfast. Huevos a la mexicana, and sausage, with homemade hashbrowns, with cheese inside.

"Only your first day of school, sis, chill! And don't worry, I can still take you if we can hurry up on breakfast, sorry I couldn't find the noplales, but better than nothing." Her sister stopped talking and turned to Rita, a smile reaching her face. "Come on Rita! Are you still upset?"

The questions Rita had fell by the wayside. "Refresh my memory."

"Moving here, to Toronto, instead of staying in Chicago, since Mom wanted to take you to Mexico. I get it, it's still a big adjustment. But I promise you, when winter break comes, we can head to Mexico to see her and the rest of the family, okay?" Maribel walked up to her, and laid a hand on Rita's shoulder.

Rita took a deep breath, and released it. "Okay, fine. Here's hoping for a good first day."

* * *

When her sister helped her to her new school, Rita took all of the information in. This couldn't be a dream, everything's too real, and not real at the same time. She brought an extra notebook to take notes in, just to see what sort of differences are in Toronto. She knows of the name, but she couldn't really place it anywhere. The year is a whole other issue altogether. When Rita had asked about her phone, she gave her a Motorola Flip phone. She couldn't find her Android anywhere, at least not in time for school.

Look, when it comes to classes, and textbooks, and the homework, Rita was all for it. Even if she had to drop out because of her mom. She wasn't going to question that part.

What she really wanted to do to be back in her room with wooden walls, and her wooden bed, getting ready to help her mother with getting the water from the water pump.

And that's the other thing. Her sister, where Rita is from, is a nurse, in Mexico city, and visits infrequently. Rita had the option to move with her sister when her family decided on relocationing to Mexico, but she was too scared at the time to do so, and her mother needed her.

What does this all mean for this, right now? And what the hell Toronto has to do with all of this?

She kept looking at herself in the rearview mirror, a few years difference than what she normally looks like, thought her hair is much longer, up to her shoulders.

"Rita, it's for the best, you're going to continue your education, and you're going in one of the best programs that this school has, you're on your way in no time!

Rita's eyes darted around when she saw the familiar roads, when she was sure she had never been to Toronto, in her entire life.

Then she saw a cream colored 'Welcome Back' banner, with light blue lettering. Underneath it saying, Degrassi Community School.

When Maribel's van came to a complete stop, Rita took everything she had inside of her to not freak out. Right there, walking towards the steps of Degrassi, were Emma Nelson, Liberty, and Toby, whose looks came straight out of season 4. She should know, it's was one of her favorite seasons to rewatch.

She was in Toronto, where Degrassi is, even if the later seasons kinda were Americanized, she remembered Fiona and Declan.

Maribel walked her inside the school, talking about how the latest surges of activity in the school doesn't deterred from their positive qualities.

Rita smiled, made polite conversation, and made an overture to listen, hearing about having a student who was in all of her classes who could help her.

She was in season 4 of Degrassi. **_That_ **season.

Holy hell. What did she wake up to?


	2. The ghost of Season 4

It was September 7, 2004, 'Lean back' by Terror Squad is the most popular song on the Billboard top 100, with Lil' Flip featuring Lea, Ciara, Nelly, Kevin Lyttle, Juvenile, and Christina Millian on the charts. In the news on this day, nothing of importance was happening in Canada, Atomic Betty premiered just the day before. Fraiser ended a few months prior. Lazytown just started less than a month prior. The Drew Carey show would be ending the next day, and Joey, the spin off to Friends, and The Batman would just start in less than two days. And of course, Rita was still in Toronto, in a school called Degrassi, where every kid in attendance were all pudgy and so sassy, S'cept for one little boy and his name was Rick, People pushed him around 'til he turned into a prick and took a-

Rita kept her mind off the Lemon Demon song, she was already reliving Degrassi, she doesn't need to remind herself of the song. Everywhere she look on road to her locket Rita's eyes darted around the hallway, cringing at Craig Manning's decorated locker, and Ashley giving him a brush off. She looked away as she locked eyes with Craig, who looked like his puppy was kicked in front of him. Oh darn, she had to end up during the love-Craig fest. Wasn't there at least 5 main characters in love with the guy, by the end of his run?

She kept looking around for any other butterflies she have to tread carefully on, and how old their clothes were. She could see that type of clothes from a thrift shop near her old place.

The weirdness thing that would happened right now, if she ended up in the middle of a Degrassi plot, like someone is talking about their pregancy or having sex, or trying to not think about them murdering someone, the simple things. She kept thinking over the other important plot points for season 4, until she found her locker. She moved out of the way from a blonde opening her locker. "Excuse me, sorry." She got the locker open on her first try, she was a bit surprised at her textbooks in being her locket already, but she took out her needed textbooks.

"You're American, aren't you?"

She slowly closed her door, and put the lock back in, and turned to Paige Michalchuck, dressed with a pink shirt with a logo she hasn't heard of and a pink plaid suit top. "What?"

"Your accent, it's sorta American." Paige looked at Rita with a smile on her face.

"Yeah... I'm from the U.S." _Also more than a decade in the future, with the added bonus of being from another universe._

"It is your first day, hun?"

She nodded. "You could say that again."

"You get used to the school after a while, the people are something else entirely." Paige looked off in the distance as she said this.

"Nice look," Rita decided on saying. " are you a part-time businesswoman or something."

"Oh," She waved her hand around her face, " this is just a look, new year, new look, new Paige. Michalchuk."

She was in the first episode of season 4, which was a two parter, involving Paige. Fecking crud, she gonna do her rape trial this episode. "Magarita Maribona." Rita held out her hand, and to her shock, Paige shook her hand.

"How alliterative. Enjoy your first day then, I hope we can see more of each other. Sophomore, right?"

Rita's eyes widen. "Yeah, how you guess?"

"You remind me of, well me, when I was younger."

"Are you a senior?"

"Grade 11. So _close_ , yet so far."

 _I'll say._ "Have a great day."

"Have a good one with yours." Rita saw Paige walk down the hallway. Son of a bastard, she was going to get involved.

* * *

The rest of her first day, went by really well. Coincidentally enough, Emma was the person who she shared all of her classes with, and was her guide for the day. She listened in, wrote down what she needed to write down, took all the paperwork needed for homework. She was in awe at the lack of people using their phones. The last time she saw that was in fifth grade.

She was happy that she had work for English literature. She wanted to explore the library here. And the library in Toronto, all of them in Toronto.

The other thing that threw her for a loop was at lunch. For one thing, there were hot lunches! And they tasted so good, she was amazed!

Since she was with Emma, she ended up sitting with her, Toby, and Liberty. Which was a blessing, she couldn't know what to do with herself if she had to work from the ground up. If she was in a gingerbread house version of Degrassi, might as well get a leg up.

"So how's Chicago different from Toronto?" Toby asked her that question.

"Skyscrapers."

"You lived in a skyscraper?" Emma asked.

Rita scoffed. "The closest I've been to a skyscraper was seeing the buildings on field trips."

"You're from the States?" Kendra Mason plopped down on a seat. "I heard around the grapevine that there's a new student from America."

Rita nodded. "Yup, that's me."

By the end of lunch, Kendra and Toby are back together, Rita bonded with Emma and Liberty over them getting back together (Not to the point of her telling them to call her Rita) and a chunk of immature boys whistling as Toby and Kendra kiss. It must be exciting dating people, and breaking up, and date, and break up again. Rinse and repeat.

"So, They break up and got back together in less than one week?" Rita asked Emma as they walked to Media Immersion.

"Have you ever been in a relationship before?" Emma raised her eyebrows.

Rita shrugged. "In a manner of speaking."

"In what way?"

"It was only really casual, we were better as friends, that sort of thing." _Of course, it really didn't help that she ended up liking her video games more than Me._

"Probably better that way, guys are overrated."

"You're telling _me_."

* * *

 _Sis, I'm sorry, but can you go to the cafe for me? I swear I'll won't leave you for the cutoff hours, thanks!_

As her first day ended, Rita was sitting on the steps, waiting for her sister, when she received a text.

 _WTH?_

After further probing on what her sister was talking about, Rita went back into the building, on her way to the computer lab, and bumped into Paige. She looked out of it. She smiled, barely. "Hey, how was your first day?"

"It was good, better than I thought it was going to be when the day started." Something occurred to Rita. "Do you know where Renegade Music Cafe is at?"

"Down Degrassi to your left, by two blocks, They have a big sign so you don't miss it, but, why do you want to go there? They kick out minors by 6."

That's what she meant. "My sis is picking me up, she works as a nurse, so it's convenient."

"Good luck over there." Was all Paige left, while Rita said goodbye to her, and left to go to this music cafe.

After walking for ages, she was relived to find the big sign that said Renegade Music Cafe. The second after she walked through the door, she heard someone calling her name. Her shorten name Some guy from the bar walked away from his bar table, his arms wide open.

"Rita, did Mari-Mar say she was working again?"

She took one look at him, his white-looking, sticky uppy hair, and his toned body. And she knew.

"Are you dating my sister?"

The guy put down his arms and frowned. "She told you already?"

"I can tell, I have good 'shipdar."

The guy pointed at her, "You did mention that, the first time we met, but we hid it so well."

 _So, either other me was lying, or Ana Steele Naive._ "Until today."

The guy gestured Rita over to the whole cafe. "Chocolate milkshake, as usual?"

"Yeah, as usual." Rita went down the small steps near the entrance, to the rest of the cafe, it was large enough for maybe two full classes. Everyone else in the club where couples, and groups of friends. She only saw one other person sitting on their own.

Rick Murray. Sitting down, with a shake, and a nose in a book, with a notebook on the side.

That was the last person she needed to see, the last person she expected to see in this building.

She turned to moved but she stopped herself. He wasn't a perfect angel, but he did tried to better himself, and going to therapy, and his hair. His hair grew out well this season. What's the worst that could happened if she just befriended the guy? Things couldn't be as bad as it could have been from the show, right?

She went up to Rick's booth. "Is anyone going to join you?"

He looked from his book, initial surprise on his face, then a small smile on his face. "Not right now, no."

Whatever it took, Rita knew she could do so much, with everything she knew. To make things right that were wrong.


	3. I'm Upset

After Eli, the guy that was dating Rita's sister, gave her shake at Rick's table, without so much as a comment, Rita eyed him as he left.

What did this universe's version of her sister had to be interested in surfer dudes?

 ** _I'm working on dying._**

"So, have you been coming here a while?" Frowning a bit, looking around her surroundings. It was like a whisper.

Rick shut his book. "You could say that, this was a nice change of place from another hangout I used to go to."

Rita took one look at the noughties inspired cafe and quirked her head. "Yeah, so far I'm impressed." It was good for what it was, she mostly hung out in that donut store or maybe even that mexican place where Christy worked at.

Rick looked at Rita, in a way that she wasn't too sure on how to describe it. "You've been coming here for the past few days, surely you've been used to the location by now."

 _Okay, brick wall meets my face. Looks like pre-criminology was turning into a dud._ "Sometimes it takes a while to get used to things being as they are, I recently moved to the area, so still getting used to everything, basically. I really do my best to get used to stuff rather quick, but sometimes it doesn't work at times."

"Reading helps me these days." Rick showed her his book. "For when the days seemed dark, It's best to hide from the world for a bit."

Aside from the obvious amount of therapy in order to function. "I don't really see it that way. For me, a book is always a gateway to a new world, a different perspective of some random in the wide universe."

"Oh! Care to enlighten me?"

Let's see, what book is pre-2004? "I really enjoyed Rules of Attraction?"

"From Bret Easton Ellis, the guy who wrote American Psycho?"

"Well, yeah," _He really does know his books._ " he shows a version of drug addicts in college, who pretty much are unlikeable, and then show a bit of sympathy to their situation. The sad part about them is , aside from the fact that they're in college and enjoying what the future holds for them, and what sort of classes they could be done with, they focus so much on relationships and the shadows of people that they want, and turning out into nothing more than the person they weren't expecting."

Rick's eyes widen slightly "I'll have to read that one someday, I'd never truly want to experience the ugly side of drugs and alcohol. And the rest."

Rita's smile grew wider. "Me either. Honestly, reading about it is as far as I'm willing to go."

They talked a bit more about the pro and cons of B.E.E, Until her sister came through the door, in her nurse's uniform, barreling through the door. "Well, looks like someone decided to dip into the honey pot."

Rita stood upward, frowning. Anytime Rita mentioned her various crushes over the years, it always ends up with Maribel using Winnie the Pooh references. That was _always_ fun. "Looks like somebody didn't tell me they were dating again."

Maribel jerked her head. "Get in the car, now."

Rita looked back at Rick and waved, then she did as her sister asked. On the car ride home, Rita realized that she didn't give him her name. And he didn't give his. Oh bother.

* * *

Rita and Maribel ate takeout food of some kind when her 'sister' decided to drop the big question. "What is with you lately?"

"In general or just for a today question?"

"You don't chat up with randoms like that, Rita, there have been things going on around here, that you have to be care with these sort of things!"

"I'm sorry that making friends is out of character for me, but if I am going to live in this strange new world, I'm going about it my own way, alright?"

Maribel rolled her eyes, and started on her noodles.

"So, how long have you and Eli been a thing?"

* * *

Lying in bed, late that night, Rita saw Rick in her dreams. Not as he was, but with much shorter hair, and no glasses, and dancing next to Nina Dobrav. Those words that were whispered earlier, she was sure she had heard that voice somewhere recently, but, of course, with crappy dial-up, she couldn't make head or tails of it.

 _Got a lot of blood and it's cold_

 _They keep tryna get me for my sou_ l

Rick Murray doing the booty shake in the hallway with Emma, Spinner, Liberty, Mia, Jay and Slient Bob.

 _You only live once, that's the motto, Jimmy, Yolo!_

 ** _I'm working on dying._**

* * *

"You have got to be joshing me."

She remembered. The reason that her sister was talking to her about Degrassi Next Class, was because they saw the "I'm Upset" video they day it dropped, and that her sister was upset about the fact that they brought back Rick Murray, for that little segment about Rick being chased, by Drake's homies, but not Sean Cameron, or J.T, or even that they brought Mia, but that she didn't even graduate with the class of 2007.

Was this a "Ring" situation? Watch the video, get transported into season 4 of Degrassi? No, because that would be stupid.

Rita looked on in her classroom, with Emma Nelson, Liberty van Sant, and Toby Issaus.

It was September 8, 2004. Her second day of being in this universe, and Rita was more unsure of what she was here for.

At lunchtime, she overheard, through the natter chattings of Kendra and Toby, that Hazel and Jimmy are planning to go to Paige's brother Dylan collage party.

And there was her in.


End file.
